Bitfinex to Add Lightning Network Support for Tether
Main page News, Stablecoins

Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, one of the world's largest trading platforms for digital assets, is considering the possibility of adding Lightning Network support for USDT, The Block reported on May 31.

Paolo Ardoino, the platform's technology director, said that the company plans to launch the USDT on the Lightning Network by the end of 2019.

To make this possible, Bitfinex has joined RGB, an "open source development project aimed at developing standards and best practices for issuing, transferring and storing non-bitcoin-based assets."

Bitfinex already announced in the past its intention to launch the stablecoin on the Lightning Network. Among other advantages, the integration of Tether's stablecoin into the Lightning Network could improve the speed of all transactions carried out with USDT.

If the launch finally takes places, Tether would become the first major asset to be launched under this protocol, which could boost its mass adoption.

Why it is important

  • Tether is a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar. 1 USDT is always equivalent to 1 USD. Tether claims every token is backed by a real USD. However, this assertion has been questioned by the crypto community, which the company to carry out an internal audit in an attempt to convince the market. Nonetheless, the results were also questioned since the audit was conducted by a private company and not by a public institution.

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